Of all the facets of aviation history; painting schemes, national insignia, organizational markings, unit badges, and personal emblems are the most difficult to document. Specifications, Technical Orders, Letters, and Memoranda are basic sources of data. Photographs and personal recollec­tions, while mostly supportative, are often contradictory and /or misleading, if not viewed as variations to the norm.
Implementation of official directives issued by the Bureau of Aeronautics and Fleet and Force Commanders could take months to become effective. Unit custom and/or command perrogatives resulted in variations that were sometimes major in scope. Many of these will be noted in the text and photographically.
From the procurement of its first aircraft in 1911, through World War One, Navy and Marine Corps aviation was almost entirely coast based. Seaplanes (695) and flying boats (1,170) far outnumbered the 242 landplanes on hand on 11 November 1918. In general, color was basic and markings were simple.
The slow but steady growth between the two World Wars took landplanes to sea aboard aircraft carriers and placed float planes on all battleships and cruisers. Continuing organizational changes were a natural result, with cor­responding changes in color and markings. The tremendous expansion dur­ing World War Two brought major changes in painting schemes and for a time, a near disappearance of unit markings.
In consideration of these variables, therefore, the authors have attempted to describe the evolution of the color schemes and markings carried by air­craft and airships of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard from 1911 through 1945. In so doing, every effort has been made to correlate the "official" with the "visual" record and to resolve the many ambiguities thereby disclosed.

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